Hollywood's summer season kicks off on May 4, 2012; as with recent years, the four-month period is dominated by superheroes, sequels and franchise reboots featuring epic battles between good and evil. With the summer season generating as much as 40 per cent of the annual domestic box office, the pressure is on to lure core audiences of mostly young men to theaters, and superhero films, sequels and reboots most often do exactly that.

Movies based on characters and stories that are well-known, such as those in comic books, or games, film sequels, remakes and best-selling books reach audiences of built-in fans that typically turn out in droves. Book-to-film titles already have helped push movie ticket sales up 14 per cent this year to $3.3 billion. Theater attendance is up 17 per cent giving box office watchers reason to think the summer will top last year's $4.4 billion in seasonal revenues.– Reuters

Actor Colin Farrell is shown in a scene from the film ?Total Recall?

Actor Andrew Garfield is shown in a scene from the film ?The Amazing Spider-Man? ? File Photo

Actors Tommy Lee Jones (L) and Meryl Streep are shown in a scene from the film ?Hope Springs?

Actor Johnny Depp is shown in a scene from his film ?Dark Shadows?

The characters of animated film ?Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted?

Actress Anne Hathaway is shown in a scene from the Warner Bros. film ?The Dark Knight Rises?

The character Princess Merida is shown in a scene from the upcoming animated film ?Brave?

Actors Tommy Lee Jones (L) and Will Smith are shown in a scene from ?Men in Black 3?

Actors Russell Brand (L), Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta and Alec Baldwin (R) are shown in a scene from the film ?Rock of Ages?